The National Chicken Council released the following statement in response to USDA-FSIS announcing its plans to declare Salmonella an adulterant in frozen, raw, breaded, stuffed, chicken products. The response is from Ashley Peterson, Ph.D., senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs.
“As these products often appear ready to eat, but contain raw chicken, we recognize their nature raises special considerations that merit additional attention. The National Chicken Council (NCC) and our member companies have invested millions of dollars and have worked for more than a decade to develop and refine best practices for these products to reduce Salmonella and protect public health. These efforts have been paying off, demonstrated by a significant decline in illness over the past seven years."